About this dataset

Sea surface temperature is the temperature of the top millimeter of the ocean's surface. An anomaly is when something is different from normal, or average. A sea surface temperature anomaly is how different the ocean temperature at a particular location at a particular time is from the normal temperatures for that place. For example, a global map of sea surface temperature anomaly for May 2006 would show where the temperatures in May 2006 were warmer, cooler, or the same as other Mays in previous years. Sea surface temperature anomalies can happen as part of normal ocean cycles or they can be a sign of long-term climate change, such as global warming.